Mr. Speaker, last evening I was in the House to raise a question on behalf of my constituents. At that time, I saw the member for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam with an open laptop on his desk and on the screen was an image of a scantily clad woman. This was in my clear view and in the clear view of the public gallery.

I feel very strongly that this is not only disrespectful of women, but it is disrespectful of the House. It reflects an attitude of objectifying women. We know that when women and other human beings are objectified and dehumanized, they become the objects of violence and abuse.

On the eve of December 6, we have to be mindful that we represent all the people of our communities, men and women, and that we are national leaders here. This is a place of power. That power must be used respectfully and it must be used with humility.

Alleged Behaviour of Member for Port Moody—Westwood—Port CoquitlamPoints of OrderPrivate Members' Business

3:15 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam
B.C.

Conservative

James MooreConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics

Mr. Speaker, with respect, I do not have the faintest idea what my colleague is talking about. Members in the House who have known me as a member of the House since 2000 know I treat the House with respect. With respect to what she is alleging, I do not have the faintest idea what she is talking about.

I have to say that whatever is being talked about does not strike me as being a point of order. The House some time ago allowed members to bring computers into the House. What appears on the screens of computers is not under the control of the Chair. I would suggest that if members have concerns about this, they raise it with the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. If it wants to pass a rule saying computers are not allowed in the House, it can do so.

I am not getting into anything about content on computers. I am sure the hon. member for London—Fanshawe was not suggesting that the Chair control in any way the computer screens of hon. members. I cannot do that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. I would like to point out that I believe all members of the House are honourable. I know this is a very serious allegation. I would hope the member, who has been accused of this point of order, would look in his heart and perhaps look on his laptop on a day—

I have dealt with this matter. I do not believe that this kind of allegation is a point of order in the House. I will allow the hon. parliamentary secretary to say something more, but I am very concerned. This is not a matter of House procedure.

Mr. Speaker, with respect, I have taken great efforts throughout my political career to treat all my colleagues with the deepest of respect. I do not know where this attack is coming from, where these allegations are coming from. It is utterly baseless, utterly nonsensical.

I thank my colleagues every day and my constituents every day for giving me the honour of serving in the House. I would never do anything like what is being described to me today. I take great offence to what is being alleged here. I would never do what has been talked about. I respect the House too much to even consider doing what has been described to me. I love this place, I love serving my constituents and I am offended that this has even been alleged.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in relation to blue-green algae and their toxins.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. This committee recommends that its report on the court challenges program be deemed presented to the House upon its adoption by the committee, if the House has already adjourned, and that the adoption of this motion be reported to the House.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure and an honour for me to present this bill here today, a bill that provides for an increase in the amount of supplement to be paid monthly to a pensioner and for the payment of a pension and supplement to a person who ceases to have a spouse or common-law partner by reason of the spouse's or common-law partner's death. In addition, it removes the requirement to make an application for a supplement and allows the retroactive payment of supplements.

Canada relies on voluntary donors to provide blood and blood products required to treat patients in a variety of situations. Blood donors save lives every day, yet, sadly, there are not enough to meet the needs of our health care system. The purpose of the bill is to recognize and encourage blood donors who choose to share the gift of life with their fellow Canadians. I trust all parties will continue to support this valuable initiative.

Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 86.2, I wish to inform the Speaker that the bill is in the same form as Bill S-214, which was before the House in the first session and I ask that the bill be reinstated.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure today to table a petition from two of my constituents about dangerous sexual offenders. This petition was initiated because there is a dangerous sexual offender in our community. There has been much discussion of this in the media. Citizens and people interested in this issue realized that there is a flaw in the 1996 legislation on dangerous offenders and those under long-term supervision.

Even though legislation is not retroactive, the people who signed this petition are asking us to amend section 818, which makes conditional release available to dangerous sexual offenders. Furthermore, they are asking us to ensure that offenders like Mr. Bégin will remain in jail as long as they are still considered dangerous.

We collected about 5,000 names on this petition and it is my great pleasure to table it in the House today.

With respect to the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation that is moving from west to east across the country: (a) what is the most up-to-date assessment of the speed at which it will travel across the Prairies and into Northern Ontario; (b) what is the projected economic impact on Northern Ontario, including, but not limited to lost lumber, hectares, employment, and longer term regional development; (c) how many communities and families are expected to be affected by the infestation in Northern Ontario; (d) what financial resources are estimated to be needed to adequately respond to the crisis if the infestation reaches Northern Ontario; (e) has the federal government met with its counterparts in the Ontario government to ensure preparedness for the spread of the infestation into Ontario; (f) what is the current plan to coordinate with Ontario, including, but not limited to, a timeline for future meetings, memorandums of understanding, federal/provincial compensation agreements for affected communities, and a plan to mitigate the impact of the spread of the infestation into Ontario; (g) have any plans been made to halt the progress of the infestation before reaching Northern Ontario; (h) have any funds been spent to put the plan into action; (i) from which departmental budget were these funds distributed; (j) who were the recipients of these funds; and (k) which branches, of which departments, are tasked with developing and implementing a strategy to tackle the spread of the infestation toward and into Northern Ontario?

a), b), c), d), e), f), and k) There is no mountain pine beetle, MPB, in Northern Ontario. Canada's government is aggressively acting to stop the spread of the MPB, and mitigate its economic impacts. All resources requested by the British Columbia forest Service have been fully met by the federal government to combat the spread of the Beetle.

Direct control measures are currently being strategically focused along the north-eastern front of the beetle epidemic in B.C., in portions of the major mountain passes between B.C. and Alberta, and in other areas of Alberta where appropriate.

When the MPB population build-up was identified in B.C.'s Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and adjacent pine forest areas in the mid-1990s, the then provincial and federal governments did not take the necessary aggressive action that was needed to combat the threat. Our government is committed to taking all necessary steps to combat the MPB and its spread.

g) and h) The government of B.C. and Alberta and the federal government are engaged in coordinated activities to limit the spread of the MPB at the Alberta-B.C. border. Based on the experience in B.C., an aggressive approach is being taken to reduce the spread of the beetle into Alberta.

Saskatchewan and Alberta have imposed a ban on the transport and storage of pine forest products with bark attached from outside jurisdictions, to reduce the risk of human-assisted transport of the beetle into these provinces.

The federal government, in collaboration with provinces and territories, has developed a national approach to dealing with the MPB and other insects and diseases.

Budget 2006 provided $400 million over two years to combat the MPB infestation, strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the forestry sector, and support worker adjustment. Of that amount, $200 million was identified to combat the infestation.

In January 2007 the Minister of Natural Resources announced a $200 million federal MPB program. Two subsequent announcements on how specific portions of that $200 million will be spent are worth noting. On March 23, 2007, the minister announced that, under the program, $24.8 million was being invested in 2006-2007 to help control the spread of the insect along B.C.'s eastern border and to protect communities and forest resources. On June 8, 2007, the minister announced that the federal government is investing $39.6 million in 2007-2008 under the next phase of the program for ongoing work with the provinces and communities.

The provinces of B.C. and Alberta have also committed and disbursed funds in response to the outbreak that are not included above.